1. Field of the Invention
This invention is generally directed to methods and apparatuses providing surface temperature control in a high heat flux environment with concurrent high velocity flow over the surface, and, more particularly, to surface temperature control methods and apparatuses traditionally involving film cooling or transpiration cooling in the aforementioned environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many engineering applications, including various components of aircraft, missiles and spacecraft, require temperature control on surfaces bounding high velocity flow while simultaneously being subjected to high incident heat flux. Conventional methods of surface temperature control under such conditions are film cooling and transpiration cooling.
A typical film cooling system includes a load bearing structural plenum having a large number of small holes drilled in the outer structural wall thereof. The cooling air exits the plenum through these holes thereby forming a cooling film that reduces the temperature of the outer structural wall. However, such a cooling system has disadvantages; a large number of holes must be drilled in the surface to be cooled, increasing the cost and complexity of the plenum while reducing its structural strength. Furthermore, the holes must be carefully designed to give an effective cooling film over a wide variety of external environments. Cooling air exiting at too high of a velocity will blow through and out of the surface boundary layer into the free stream flow, resulting in reduced heat transfer at the plenum outer wall and correspondingly poor surface temperature control.
A typical transpiration cooling system includes a plenum bounded by an outer wall consisting of a structural porous material formed from a sintered metal or a ceramic. These porous materials have a large surface area per unit volume, and are capable of providing highly effective cooling of the material and correspondingly good surface temperature control. However, selecting the type of porous material to use as the outer wall of the plenum is a difficult design problem. Structural ceramics tend to be brittle and have less structural strength than metals. Sintered metals tend to be stronger but are also heavier than structural ceramics, and thus may impose an unacceptable weight penalty.